Legal & General Group Plc Sells 619 Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,238 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 619 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $9,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 209.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in WD-40 by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 150,557 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $36,537,000 after acquiring an additional 5,095 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,903,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,627,684 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $395,006,000 after purchasing an additional 16,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in WD-40 by 115.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 859 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson upgraded shares of WD-40 to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In related news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer acquired 256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $222.83 per share, with a total value of $57,044.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,072 shares in the company, valued at $907,363.76. The trade was a 6.71 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Price Performance

WD-40 stock opened at $222.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 42.67 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $234.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $249.09. WD-40 has a 12 month low of $208.00 and a 12 month high of $292.36.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The business had revenue of $146.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $154.40 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that WD-40 will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.97%.

WD-40 Profile

WD-40 Company develops and sells maintenance products, and homecare and cleaning products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides multi-purpose maintenance products that include aerosol sprays, non-aerosol trigger sprays, precision pens, and in liquid-bulk form products under the WD-40 Multi-Use brand name; specialty maintenance products, such as penetrants, degreasers, corrosion inhibitors, greases, lubricants, and rust removers under the WD-40 Specialist brand; and bike-specific products.